Barely three months before the 2015 governorship election in Lagos State, three members of the peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State have asked a Lagos High court sitting in Ikeja to stop Senator Musiliu Obanikoro from participating in the party’s primaries.
According to Daily Sun newspaper, the three applicants, Babatunde Ogun, Sulaiman Saheed and Wasiu Adeniyi Odusan filed the suit through their counsel, Wahab Shittu, praying the court among others for order of perpetual injunction restraining Obanikoro from offering himself for screening for the PDP governorship primaries in Lagos State.
The applicants are contending that Obanikoro is not eligible to vie for any elective post in Nigeria on account of alleged double nationalities.
Specifically, the applicants are asking the court to determine Obanikoro’s eligibility to participate in the party’s governorship primaries fixed for 8 December , “having previously presented a forged birth certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) contrary to Section 182(1) (J) of the 1999 Constitution”.
Listed as co-respondents in the suits are the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP.
In the suit, the applicants are asking the court to halt Obanikoro’s governorship ambition until the following questions among others, were resolved:
“Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of Section 182(1) (a) (j) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the 1st responded (Obanikoro) having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America in addition to the citizenship of Nigeria, is eligible to present himself for nomination as a candidate in the governorship primaries of the 3rd respondent (PDP) or any other registered political party for the purpose of contesting on the platform of the PDP or any other political party registered in Nigeria for the purpose of contesting the 2015 elections in Lagos State or any subsequent elections in Nigeria.
“Whether upon a proper construction of Section 182 (1) (j) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the 1st respondent having previously presented a forged birth certificate to INEC in the April 2007 general elections for the office of Governor of Lagos State is eligible to present himself for nomination as a candidate in the governorship primaries of the 3rd respondent or any other registered political party for the purpose of contesting on the platform of the PDP or any other political party registered in Nigeria for the purpose of contesting the 2015 elections in Lagos State or any subsequent elections in Nigeria.
“Whether upon a proper construction of Section 31 (2) (50 (6) and (8) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, the applicants have locus standi to institute this present proceedings against the respondents and that the 1st respondent (Obanikoro) is not qualified to participate and or take part in the gubernatorial primary election of the PDP scheduled for the 8th of December 2014 or any other date for the selection of its candidate for the Lagos State Governorship elections scheduled to hold in 2015 or any other date.
“Whether having regards to Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, paragraph 4 (a) of Part IV of the Electoral Guidelines for Primary Elections 2010 of the 3rd respondent, the 1st respondent is qualified to participate and or take part in the gubernatorial primary election of the 3rd respondent scheduled for the 8th of December.
“Whether upon a proper construction of Sections 10 (1), (j),(k), 49(2),50(1), 50 (2) of the Constitution of the 3rd respondent, t6he 1st respondent is eligible to present himself for nomination as a candidate in the governorship primaries of the PDP for the purpose of vying for nomination as a gubernatorial candidate of the 3rd respondent with a view to contesting the 2015 elections.
“A declaration that based on the dictates of paragraph 4(a) of Part IV of the Electoral Guidelines for Primary Elections 2014 of the 3rd respondent and the antecedents of the 1st respondent particularized in the applicants’ affidavit in support of the originating summons, the 1st respondent is not eligible to participate and or take part in the gubernatorial primary election of the 3rd respondent scheduled for the 8th of December.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st respondent from participating in the governorship primaries of the 3rd respondent or in the alternative any of the registered political parties in Nigeria”.
In an affidavit differently deposed to by Ogun, Saheed and Odusan, they particularly asked the court restrain both the PDP and the INEC from nominating or accepting Obanikoro’s candidacy for ‘the purpose of the 2015 governorship elections in Lagos State or any subsequent elections in Nigeria.
For instance, Ogun, in his affidavit, said Obanikoro was not fit to vie for the 2015 gubernatorial primaries, hence he must be barred from participating in the December 8 primaries of the party.
He said: “Obanikoro deliberately declared falsely in answer to question 9 part B of the aforementioned affidavit when asked whether he had changed his nationality in the past and if so, what the nationality was, by answering “that is not applicable” when he knew that he had in actual fact acquired the citizenship of the United States of America as contained in his American Passport No.025317195 issued on June 16 1995.
“Also, Obanikoro deliberately falsified his date of birth and age as the 28th of July 1954 and 52 years respectively notwithstanding the fact that Obanikoro knew that his official Nigerian passport and his diplomatic passport No.F0004473 and D0002471 respectively show contrarily that his actual date of birth is the 28th of July 1960.
“His American Passport and application for admission to the Texas Southern University, Houston Texas including extracts from Obanikoro’s marriage records to one Jewel M. Weller in the Harris County 1982 Marriage Records support the assertion that Obanikoro’s actual date of birth is 28th July 1960 as opposed to false declaration of 28th July 1954.
“And that unless Obanikoro is perpetually restrained from participating in the scheduled governorship primaries of my party, the PDP which is to take place on the8th of December 2014, the interest of the applicants as stakeholders and the overriding interest of the PDP including the quality and character of the political space would be seriously endangered.”
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.
No comments:
Post a Comment